Hamilton married into a slave-owning family and helped to buy slaves for them

See The problem with Hamilton: As Broadway show faces calls to be 'canceled', how the Machiavellian social climber who was 'as ambitious as Caesar' married into wealthy slave-owning family and sidelined abolition in favor of advancing his career by Chris Pleasance of The Daily Mail. Excerpts:

• Alexander Hamilton is painted as an opponent of slavery in the Broadway show
• But historians say his true position on the issue was far from straightforward 
• While he moved in abolitionist circles and blasted Jefferson for owning slaves, he also married into a slave-owning family and helped to buy slaves for them
• Critics have accused him of sidelining his beliefs in order to advance his career

"While Hamilton saw the evils of slavery first-hand growing up in the West Indies and advocated powerfully against slavery later in life, he often sidelined these views in order to win the approval of wealthy benefactors and advance his career.

His two main benefactors were George Washington and Philip Schuyler, both of whom owned slaves. Hamilton helped the Schuyler family buy slaves, and helped run companies which profited from slave labor. 

Even when he did denounce slavery in 1796, having been forced out of politics, some argue he was cynically using it as a tool to trash his rival Thomas Jefferson.

A relentless social climber, Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis in 1755 to a trader father who deserted the family when he was 10 years old, and an already-married mother who died in 1768, when he was aged 13.

His father, James Hamilton, was the son of the laird of Cambuskeith in Scotland, and throughout his life, Alexander Hamilton too pride in the knowledge of his noble lineage.

Growing up in poverty, Hamilton is thought to have lied about his age to begin work for a pair of wealthy New York merchants, before using his connections to travel to mainland America and attend King's College - now Columbia.

Once there he became an advocate for revolutionary causes, joining the Revolutionary War as a volunteer in 1775 and becoming captain of an artillery company the following year.

It was at the Battle of Trenton in December 1776 that he came to the attention of his first major benefactor - Washington - by bravely defending his main army against an attack by the British.

By 1777 he was serving as Washington's aide, a connection which he leveraged to marry Elizabeth Schuyler, the daughter of fellow revolutionary and second benefactor Major General Philip Schuyler. They wed in 1780.

For Hamilton the marriage was solely about advancement, and he became a close confidant of Philip who was one of New York's richest men - and the largest slave owner in Albany. 

According to historical records, Schuyler owned at least 30 slaves who worked between his South End mansion and a farm on his Saratoga estate.

As part of the family, Hamilton appears to have turned a blind eye to his father-in-law's slave ownership while helping to buy slaves for his in-laws - though it is unlikely he ever owned slaves himself. 

While at the same time involving himself in the slave trade with the Schuyler family, Hamilton began moving in abolitionist circles - including befriending ardent abolitionist John Laurens."

"The scandal 9an extra-marital affair) went quiet for the next few years as Hamilton retired from politics, but exploded to the fore in 1796 when Hamilton launched a full-throated attack on Jefferson - who was then running for president.

Hamilton himself was out of the running, having been passed over by the Federalist party he helped to found for Thomas Pinckney and John Adams, but was determined to bring down his opponent.

In a series of letters denouncing Jefferson as a hypocrite for speaking out against slavery while continuing to own slaves and profit from it, he also dropped hints about his relationship with one of his slaves - Sally Hemings."